Oatmeal Stout | Free State Brewing Co.

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Notes / Commercial Description:
Silver Medal Winner 1997 World Beer Championships - Oatmeal Stouts.
Our classic dark beer. Full body and a well rounded flavor comes from a foundation of seven different grains. The oats add a special silky texture that complements the roasted malts. The rich malty flavor is spiced with plenty of Northern Brewer and Fuggles hops for balance. Enjoy this perennial Free State Favorite by itself or as a blend with one of our other beers.

Light black in color and just a touch of light will get through. A solid half inch of light beige colored foam rests on top. Brussels lacing. I smell judiciously used oats and dark malt. The first sip reveals a quick rush of oats that is quickly overpowered by dark roasted malt which leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste. The mouth is creamy and slightly chalky. Straightforward and simple.

This oatmeal stout pours smooth and possesses a small tan head which eventually reduces to a lacey web. The aroma is of roasted hops with a slight hint of chocolate. It hits the mouth with that same maltiness then transitions to an expresso / chocolate follow-through. This stout is easy to drink, and not as thick as some. It definately is not watery, however. This is a good stout, but not great.

Decanted from a 12 oz (355 ml) brown bottle into a conical pint glass; no production information.
A: Pours a clear, but very dark brown color with a one half to one inch head, decent retention and rings of lacing.
S: Aromas of coffee with sugar, dark berries (including their tartness), and maybe a little cocoa.
T: Sweet, like most oatmeal stouts. Flavor of dark roasty malts, coffee, anise, and pepper with saccharin-like sweetness. Bitterness evident relatively late and entirely consistent with this style.
M: Full bodied with ongoing effervescence. Slick with a clean finish.
O: A very respectable version of the oatmeal stout style, more impressed by the second (or third) go.

Not particularly exciting, but easy to drink and no off flavors. Upfront roasty bitterness with hop and oat flavor and a lightly sweet malty finish with mild astringency. Light body, little bit of lacing down the glass. Nothing to write home about, but pretty nice on a warm autumn evening.

S: The same as from the bottle it has a very chocolate like smell with coffee notes. Roasted all over smell.

T: The taste was better than in the bottle though. It was much more creamy and smooth. The chocolate was a little less present as the "roasted" flavor was compared to the bottle. Very smooth finish with slight bitterness.

Overall this beer was better out of the tap than the bottle but at $11 for 3 pints and $8 for a six-pack the 6'er comes first. Not a huge difference comparing the two, but enough to notice for me. Great Beer Free State!!!

12 oz bottle into a pint glass. This is from a selection of Free State Brewing beers send to me by JeepCop. Thanks Dale!

Pours a deep brown/near black in the glass, with a finger of smooth and creamy mocha colored head. This stays rich, leaving back a foamy cascade that settles that quickly slides down the sides but still leaves some light spotty lacing behind. The aroma is surprisingly hoppy upon first whiff, with floral notes, spice, and some bright-smelling green fruit. Coffee flavors and chocolate quickly swoop in behind the hops. I'm really digging the melding of the citrus, cocoa, and roast here. This is nice.

Those hops are equally forceful in the taste, with a fresh citric bite that sits up against a wall of crunchy roast, caramel, and chocolate. The sweetness does offer up some balance here but this is mostly coming off to me as roasty and bitter and that's what hangs in the finish the most. The mouthfeel bodied, with a relatively perky sharpness to the carbonation that makes those hops and roasted notes pop that much more but the oats keep this overall pretty smooth and silky in the mouth.

This is a very solid Oatmeal Stout and I'm really glad that I got to this one fresh, as that mildly aggressive hop profile really helped make this one for me. This stayed quite smooth and drinkable though as well. I enjoyed this.

Dark brown, almost black, reddish highlights, smallish brown head, soapy retention, good lace though. Faint nose, hint of sweet-malt... clean. Underlying hop bitterness mingles with the lightly roasted malt. No real complexity or development aside from a sparse hint of chocolate. Thin and lackluster, at best this is an average Oatmeal Stout. Far from great, nothing is offensive, but it is something Id not recommend.